NOTE: Full spoilers for the Arrested Development: Season 4 premiere follow.

It feels highly surreal to be reviewing a new episode of Arrested Development. The final (or so we thought) episode aired on FOX about five weeks before I began my job at IGN and a career writing about TV full time, and I remember being so disappointed to have just missed the chance to cover what had become my favourite TV comedy of all time.

And yet here we are. Thanks to a beloved cult series that has only gained viewers through the years and Netflix seeing the opportunity to bring in new subscribers, Arrested Development is back with 15 new episodes!

Per the Netflix model, all of the new Arrested Development episodes are being released at once. It's not my favourite method for new episodes, leaving no time to absorb and discuss one installment before the next, but Netflix is sticking with it for now. There's been a lot of mixed messaging about how this season should even be perceived – with Arrested creator Mitch Hurwitz stressing it wasn't a normal season of the show at all and that the episodes are so interconnected, it’s more like it’s telling one big story. Initially though, Hurwitz said you could watch the episodes in any order… only to take that back.

But at the end of the day, this is Arrested Development. It’s return is something amazing and special. So I’m going to do individual reviews of each episode, one a day, Monday-Friday, culminating in a season review. [Following this premiere review posting on Sunday, the day it debuts, look for the next review on Tuesday, after the holiday weekend.]

That overlong intro behind us, let’s get to it, shall we? “Flight of the Phoenix” had both the luxury and the burden of being the episode to get the ball rolling on the show’s return. The expectations have been sky high, of course, but could the show live up to it after so long, with its legend only growing? The premiere episode said yes… with some caveats. What’s important to keep in mind of course is just what a high standard Arrested Development has set for itself. We expect a level of brilliance that is hard to achieve and "Flight of the Phoenix" wasn’t a complete home run in this regard. But it still had plenty to love.

First of all, it’s just great seeing these characters again, isn’t it? We already knew that, thanks to the busy schedule of the cast, these new episodes would not feature ensemble stories, but rather be very character-focused, with one person at the center and others floating in and out. But seeing a story about Michael Bluth (and plenty of George Michael Bluth) made it hard not to smile, and certainly the cast members we saw in this episode quickly proved they have the same great chemistry with each other.

Right from the start, there was a lot of happiness here (for viewers, if not the characters). The nods to the show's return were much appreciated, including the narrator clearing his throat when he first began to speak, and the nod to the family's future being "cancelled" in the opening credits. And of course, what would Arrested Development be without some inappropriate family behavior, as Michael got in the shower with George Michael? And as always, continuity was huge for this show - with flashbacks to the 2006 finale, which added new touches to it, involving Stan Sitwell and Lucille 2. And "You're a crook, Captain Hook" will never stop being fantastic.

It was sad (and that was the point, of course), to see Michael at such a low point here, in so many ways. Hooking up with Lucille 2 (Liza Minnelli, still totally going for it in this unlikely role) alone was a hysterical way to show that the family’s would-be moral center was not in a great place. His encounter with Gob was also a highlight (more on that later) and it was really funny to see him resort to moving in with poor George Michael… initially.

Maeby’s presence on the college campus was surprising, simply because Maeby had been such a natural born con artist at such a young age, it didn’t seem likely she’d end up living such a normal life. That will likely be explained in another episode though, and in the meantime, there's plenty to ponder about Maeby and George Michael's status, given that whole "there's a girl in the room" situation... (Hey, George Michael and Maeby were still married last time we knew, right?)

Unfortunately though, the whole dorm storyline kind of lost steam along the way. The run of Michael coming up with a way to vote to get rid of a roommate (not realizing he was the true odd man out) never really took off and dragged on too long. Similarly, Michael’s attempt to get a copy of the magazine he was featured in -- in a scene featuring the cast of Workaholics -- also felt oddly lackluster. What did work though in these later moments? The awesome payoff to Michael deciding to finally go to Phoenix, complete with a cornballer/hand-burning call back. And, speaking of callbacks, the "Vote Michael out" bit did at least culminate in a great "and now the father becomes the son" moment, as Michael did the Charlie Brown walk of shame.

Much better was the flashback to Michael meeting with his parents and Barry Zuckerkorn - with Tony Hale instantly reminding us of how amazing Buster is with just one scream (in reaction this hearing his parents might divorce, no less) and George Sr. sharing his, ahem, interesting theories on tipping African Americans.

While it was amusing to see Seth Rogen and Kristen Wiig as a younger George Sr. and Lucille, it was also a bit strange, considering we saw many flashbacks on the show set in this same era before, and it was simply Jeffrey Tambor and Jessica Walter playing the characters. However, while Rogen was decent, Wiig quickly proved a terrific fit, doing a fantastic job of conveying all of Walter’s distinct Lucille mannerisms and expressions. And the Grinch bit not only was spot on for Lucille, but also a funny in-joke to Ron Howard's cinematic past.

As for that scene with Gob, Will Arnett once more showed how perfect he is at playing this impressively ego-fueled Bluth brother, Forget Me Nows included. And the glimpse Michael got of someone Gob had been sleeping with was a fun mystery inclusion to set up for a later episode to pay off.

Lastly, it's nice to see the show still using the act break style they originally had, given they don't have actual breaks on Netflix. There's something to be said for tradition...

For those commenting on this story, please be kind and stick to just the premiere episode. Obviously, with all the episodes available at once, different people will be watching Arrested Development at very different rates and everyone won't have seen all the episodes.

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